By HOLLY GASKILL

Police retrieved a body believed to be a missing 19-year-old from Geneva Thursday morning. 

Branden Beer was reported missing to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, May 3. His vehicle was recovered in the Wabash River in Bluffton later the same day, with tire tracks leading to the vehicle. 

Members of the Bluffton Fire Department and officers from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources were in boats in the Wabash river Wednesday, May 3, west of the White Bridge. A body was discovered Thursday, May 11, roughly six miles downriver. (Photo by Dave Schultz)

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources located the body at approximately 9 a.m. on Rose Road roughly a half-mile west of CR 100E, roughly 6 miles downriver from the vehicle. The body was then transported to the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center, where an autopsy will be conducted on Friday. 

Detective Greer stated the initial accident is still believed to have only involved Beer’s vehicle. Prior to the river accident, Beer had been allegedly missing since Sunday, April 30. His death is still under investigation. 

Assisting in the investigation were the ACSD, WCSD, Bluffton Fire and Rescue, the Bluffton Police Department, Decatur Fire Department, Indiana DNR, Wells County Coroner’s Office, and Haggard, Hirschy, and Zent Funeral Home. 

holly@news-banner.com

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR